Lynyrd Skynyrd
Comcast Theatre
Hartford, Connecticut
August 22, 2009
Skynyrd made another triumphant return to Connecticut, always a hotspot for the band, under extreme duress once again. I don’t know how Gary Rossington, Rickey Medlocke and Johnny Van Zant continue to press on in the face of apparently regular misfortune and tribulations, but they do…and thank God for that! With both Billy Powell and Ean Evans passing away recently, the Skynyrd guys dealt with their hardship head on – a cracking brand new album, “God and Guns,” and a massive tour that is taking them across the US as you read this.
Opening with the next great Skynyrd anthem, the band came out of the gates running with “Skynyrd Nation” off of “God and Guns.” This song, like many on the new release, has the requisite hooks, riffs, and chorus to bring the band to even greater heights! After an all too brief taste of the new album, the band opened the vault and out came “Gimme Back my Bullets”, “What’s your Name”, and “That Smell” (too bad they didn’t do the extended version found on the “Street Survivors Expanded Deluxe Edition”). “Simple Man” still sent shivers up the old backbone, especially during the chorus when the thousands in attendance sang along in unison. Next, “Still Unbroken”, the single off of “God and Guns” was aired. It reminds me of “That’s how I like it” – a punchy, gruff southern rocker with a typically killer chorus.
If my memory serves correctly, we’ve not heard “Down South Jukin” and “Whiskey Rock ‘N’ Roller” live in a long while, but we got them tonight. These two southern pickers truly characterize the band’s long-standing writing style. “Needle and the Spoon”, “Tuesday’s Gone”, Gimme Three Steps” and “Call me the Breeze” followed. Then, of course, the southern rock anthem of all time in “Sweet Home Alabama” filled the air. Mark Matejka’s solo was astounding complementing Ed King’s perfectly. And then the other southern rock anthem of all time, “Freebird”, introduced keyboardist Peter Keys to the fans. He played a spot on intro that paid the ultimate tribute to the late, great Powell. And taking over where possibly the most underrated rock guitarist ever in the late Allen Collins left off, Medlocke overtook center stage and tore into some stunning lead work that closed out “Freebird” in typically manic fashion.
These guys really epitomize southern life; perseverance, grit, down-to-earth and faith-driven. And in the seemingly continual face of adversity, Skynyrd has always come out swinging! And as fans, we must continue to support the ongoing legacy that is Lynyrd Skynyrd, the greatest southern rock band…institution ever!